artifice

American  

[ahr-tuh-fis] / ˈɑr tə fɪs /

noun

1. a clever trick or stratagem; a cunning, crafty device or expedient; wile.

   Synonyms:

   subterfuge

2. trickery; guile; craftiness.

   Synonyms:

   duplicity, art, deceit, deception

3. cunning; ingenuity; inventiveness.

   a drawing-room comedy crafted with artifice and elegance.

4. a skillful or artful contrivance or expedient.

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artifice British  

/ ˈɑːtɪfɪs /

noun

1. a clever expedient; ingenious stratagem

2. crafty or subtle deception

3. skill; cleverness

4. a skilfully contrived device

5. obsolete craftsmanship

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Related Words

See trick. See cunning.

Etymology

Origin of artifice

1525–35; < Anglo-French < Latin artificium craftsmanship, art, craftiness, equivalent to arti-, combining form of ars art ¹ + -fic-, combining form of facere to do ¹, make + -ium + -ium

Example Sentences

Some crafty artifice and a heap of negative space aren’t enough to fill the void left by a complete lack of narrative sense.

From Salon

Sayers praised the art underlying the artifice, paraphrasing Aristotle on the practice of literary deception.

From The Wall Street Journal

Anytime the film veers into computer-generated territory, it takes on a sheen of cheesy artifice.

From Los Angeles Times

The way that any actor could, with a look, destroy the artifice, the pretense of reality on film.

From Literature

Underneath the digital artifice, Chaplin’s eyes flash with hot conviction and palpable presence.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• contrivance
• gimmick